PRESS DIGEST - Malaysia - Oct 31

Following are the main stories in Malaysian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE STAR (www.thestar.com.my)

-- Petrol prices are expected to be cut by 15 cents a litre at 12.01am tomorrow (Saturday) - the fourth reduction since August, Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia President, Abdul Wahid Bidin said.

-- Contract defaults on palm oil are expected to rise further in the next three months due to the current sharply discounted crude palm oil (CPO) prices, analysts said.

NEW STRAITS TIMES (www.nst.com.my)

-- Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Thursday provided the exact figure for the Eurocopter deal after he was given a clarification by the Defence Ministry.

BUSINESS TIMES (www.btimes.com.my)

-- Tune Money Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Tengku Zafrul Aziz and chief financial officer Chuah Lai Hock have resigned.

-- The sharp falls in the equities market have cut the total value of unit trust funds by 21 billion ringgit in the first nine months of the year, Federation of Malaysian Unit Trust Managers President, Tunku Ya'acob Tunku Abdullah said.

THE EDGE FINANCIAL DAILY (www.theedgedaily.com)

-- Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw a rebound on Thursday after a series of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong aimed at combating the credit crisis and staving off a global recession.

THE MALAYSIAN RESERVE (www.themalaysianreserve.com)

-- A unit of Kencana Petroleum Bhd (KENP.KL) has won a $235 million (830.18 million ringgit) contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for the provision of offshore drilling services, the company said.

-- The local unit trust industry saw a decline of 21 billion ringgit, or 12 percent, in net asset value, down to 148 billion ringgit in the first nine months of this year due to massive selling on the local bourse.

THE SUN (www.sun2surf.com)

-- The government has succeeded in throwing out a 136 million ringgit negligence suit filed by 184 pig farmers and the next-of-kin of those who died in the 1998-1999 Nipah virus epidemic, Federal Court Judge Nik Hashim Nik Ab Rahman said.